NYC’s Broadway making appearance on East Broadway

Thursday

Local singer, performer and artistic director Evynne Hollens is bringing her Broadway experience to Eugene audiences when “Real Broadway” takes the stage this weekend.

Hollens is showcasing “the best works on Broadway” in the fifth edition of her Contemporary Songbook Project at The Shedd Institute for the Arts.

“I’ve always been a musical theater person, staying up on the newest, hottest shows, because I gravitate toward that music,” Hollens said. “And our community doesn’t really get a lot of that, so this project brings the Broadway world to Eugene in a unique way.”

Hollens’ Contemporary Songbook Project series celebrates the new generation of songwriters working in the world of post-modern musical theater.

Hollens just returned from her Broadway debut with her husband — singer and YouTube star Peter Hollens — at August Wilson Theatre. They performed in the live Christmas concert “Home for the Holidays” with the winners of television shows “American Idol,” “The Voice,” “America’s Got Talent” and “The Bachelorette.”

The musical theater and YouTube star said she’s excited to perform with a new level of credibility. “Just having been on Broadway and now doing this Broadway-themed show, I’m not just some random girl, but I have real credit,” she said. “The quality of voices in this performance is really high because there’s so much talent in this town, and now I have a new level of experience to bring to this stage.”

Hollens will sing a majority of the music, supported by six other musicians. This year’s project, “Real Broadway,” will highlight contemporary musicals that are inspired by true events. The program will include music from popular musical “Hamilton: An American Musical” as well as from Broadway award-winners “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” and “Anastasia.”

The program also will include music from “Come From Away,” a show set a week after the Sept. 11 attacks about the true story of what happened when 38 planes were ordered to land unexpectedly in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland.

“It can heighten the experience, letting the audience get a more real, intimate look at some of these true stories that have been performed on the world’s greatest stages,” Hollens said.

In addition, the performance will feature music from Broadway shows “Fun Home,” “Grey Gardens” and “Assassins.”

In the second act, Hollens is bringing something new to the stage, showcasing a number of songs and scenes from her very own developing musical, “Milagro.” “Milagro” (“Miracle”) is a bilingual musical based on the true story of three women living in Guatemala and the United States and the unlikely circumstances that bind them together, Hollens said. “Just a few years ago I would’ve never guess that I’d be writing a show, but it’s become my greatest passion project, my life’s work,” she said.

The work on the musical began a few years ago after she ran into a woman in town and heard her story. Hollens said she was stunned, and it lived in her head for a while. Finally, one night she thought, “I have to write this, I have to make this a musical.”

She partnered with Portland-based Broadway songwriter Anna Gilbert, and now “Milagro” is set to debut in 2019. Performing songs and scenes during “Real Broadway” will be the first time they’ve been shown on stage in front of a live audience.

“It’s been this wonderful, serendipitous thing, and I’m so excited to debut parts of it along with these amazing modern Broadway favorites during the show,” she said.

For a rousing finale, Hollens chose to perform music from the recent hit “The Greatest Showman,” a movie inspired by the true story of P.T. Barnum’s creation of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. “To make it amazing, we needed more people to create the big, Broadway sound, so we’re having an extra 20 singers come and join in the show.”

Evynne and Peter Hollens will perform a duet, singing the movie’s “Rewrite the Stars.”

Until she heads back to Broadway, Evynne Hollens said bringing music from the world’s best musicals to Eugene is a way to make Broadway accessible to everyone. “Getting to Broadway was the craziest, most surreal and incredible experience,” she said. “It’s so special to bring some of it back here.”